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Regional Round-up

December 2017

The last few years in residential lettings have been very interesting, to say the least. There has been plenty of changes in legislation and there is still more to come, which only highlights the importance of using an expert.

There are laws that are still relevant to today that date back centuries, not to mention ones currently being created. Therefore, relationships between landlords and tenants are breaking down regularly due to a lack of knowledge.

According to a recent survey, a third of landlords may ditch their agent when the tenant fee ban is implemented. This is due to the possible costs being passed onto them coupled with new landlord taxation rules. This is a worrying trend because as the legislation in the sector becomes more and more complicated, it’s the professional agents that will be continuously training, learning and implementing so that we’re ahead of the curve.

On the horizon is the creation of a database of rogue landlords, the implementation of mandatory electrical testing and client money protection which are all good decisions. However, banning fees to tenants will cause a ripple effect that hasn't been thought through and landlords will need the support of their professional letting agent now more than ever.

I welcome any letting agents that want to become an ARLA Propertymark member to attend my meetings as not only is it an absolute eye opener but extremely enjoyable. It’s great to be part of a collective of professionals that care about people and the industry in which we operate. Knowledge truly is power, so the question is why wouldn't you want to be an expert?